Dewdrops in the Garden | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 12, 1994 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 67:58 | |||
Label | Elektra | |||
Producer | Deee-Lite | |||
Deee-Lite chronology | ||||
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Singles from Dewdrops in the Garden | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Baltimore Sun | (favourable) [2] |
Cash Box | (favourable) [3] |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | [4] |
Entertainment Weekly | B− [5] |
The Guardian | (favourable) [6] |
Knoxville News Sentinel | [7] |
Music & Media | (favourable) [8] |
People | (favourable) [9] |
Q | [10] |
Slant Magazine | [11] |
Dewdrops in the Garden is the third and final studio album by American dance music band Deee-Lite, released in August 1994 via Elektra Records. The album saw the group move away from the overtly political lyrical content of the previous album, shifting into themes of dance and intimacy with a heavier lean into psychedelic music.
At the time of the release of Dewdrops in the Garden, Lady Kier had compared it to Infinity Within , saying:
During the Gulf War and Bush years we felt it was important to use the platform we had in the media responsibly. Our new album is more about personal politics rather than global. We're going back to our original concept. People have enough problems, they don't need to hear it in music. Just making uplifting music is a political statement in itself. We want to strengthen their spirit on the dance floor so they can diffuse the dissatisfaction from daily global destruction. [12]
The album drew inspiration from Lady Kier's travels to the Hopi ruins in the Painted Desert and pyramids in Yucatán and Dmitry's travels to the Grand Canyon and Joshua Tree. The inspiration was clear in Lady Kier's description of the track "Music Selector is the Soul Reflector":
It is about the love of the collective dancefloor consciousness. The DJ is like the guru, the booth is the altar, the dancefloor is the sacred ground we worship on. [13]
Most of the work on Dewdrops in the Garden was done by Super DJ Dmitry and Lady Miss Kier joined by Kansan producer Ani Schempf (DJ Ani, also known as DJ On-E and DJ Ani Quinn). Towa Tei had left the band to do some work on Japanese pop star Nokko's album and his own debut solo album Future Listening! , and he was said to be back for the band's fourth album, which was never made. Even through his absence, Tei contributed various production to the tracks "Call Me", "Party Happening People", "DMT (Dance Music Trance)", and the "Funky Chunky Bonus Beats" portion of "What is This Music?".
Shortly after the album's release, a companion album titled Dewdrops in the Remix containing four remixes of "Picnic in the Summertime," four mixes of "Bring Me Your Love," and six mixes of "Call Me" was released in Japan. "Bring Me Your Love" and "Call Me" became their last two number-one hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
All tracks written by Deee-Lite.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Say Ahhh…" | 4:10 |
2. | "Mind Melt" | 0:33 |
3. | "Bittersweet Loving" | 3:42 |
4. | "River of Freedom" | 4:06 |
5. | "Somebody" | 3:30 |
6. | "When You Told Me You Loved Me" | 3:00 |
7. | "Stay in Bed, Forget the Rest" | 3:10 |
8. | "Call Me" | 3:50 |
9. | "Music Selector is the Soul Reflector" | 4:30 |
10. | "Sampladelic" | 0:47 |
11. | "Bring Me Your Love" | 3:40 |
12. | "Picnic in the Summertime" | 3:32 |
13. | "Apple Juice Kissing" | 3:13 |
14. | "Party Happening People" | 4:00 |
15. | "DMT (Dance Music Trance)" | 4:27 |
16. | "What is This Music?"
| 17:50 |
Chart (1994) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [14] | 140 |
U.S. Billboard 200 [15] | 127 |
Deee-Lite was an American house and dance music group formed in New York City. The group's single "Groove Is in the Heart," which was released in 1990 from their debut studio album, World Clique (1990), was a top-ten hit in multiple countries. In December 2016, Billboard ranked them as the 55th most successful dance artists of all time.
Towa Tei is a Japanese artist, record producer, and DJ. Born in Yokohama, Japan, Towa was a member of Deee-Lite, from the US label Elektra Records in 1990 and shot to fame via their international hit single, "Groove Is In the Heart". He made his solo debut with the album Future Listening! in 1994. He has since relocated from New York to rural Nagano Prefecture in Japan.
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Joshua Winkelman, better known by his stage name Josh Wink, is an American electronic dance music DJ, label owner, producer, and remixer. He is a native of Philadelphia, United States. A pioneering DJ in the American rave scene during the early 1990s, Wink was the most prominent exponent of the tribal forms of techno and house in the U.S. In 1995, he released several hits, including "Don't Laugh", "I'm Ready", and "Higher State of Consciousness," which topped the dance charts in Europe. He has had many club hits such as "How's Your Evening So Far?" and "Superfreak (Freak)" and has also gained much attention for his remixes of Stabbing Westward, FC Kahuna, Paul Oakenfold, Moby, Towa Tei, Ladytron and Depeche Mode, among others.
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"Groove Is in the Heart" is a song by American dance band Deee-Lite, released in August 1990 by Elektra as their debut and lead single from their first album, World Clique (1990). Written and produced by the band, it was a hit in many countries, reaching number-one in Australia and on both the Canadian RPM and US Billboard dance charts. Today it is widely recognized as a classic of its genre. It was accompanied with a psychedelic 60s-themed music video directed by Hiroyuki Nakano.
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"Bring Me Your Love" is a song recorded and produced by American-based group Deee-Lite, which was released in May 1994 by Elektra Records as the second single of their third and final studio album, Dewdrops in the Garden (1994). The single was issued as a 12-inch white vinyl and sampled "The Children's Song" by Eddie Harris.
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